Page 63 of Devoted Enough

“And if that person has a dog?”

“Depends. Some dogs will just come running in, greet each other, and we keep moving. I’ve learned to read people. If someone appears to be afraid of dogs, I recall them to a spot off the trail, and we let them go by.”

“Have you ever had a dog not listen to you?”

Haven laughed. “More than once. You get to learn the dogs as well. I had a young golden once that had to keep on a leashbecause if she saw a person, she would run and jump all over them. She spent more time on a leash than I would have liked. She didn’t do well in this type of setting, so I would usually go and pick her up early in the morning and take her to a park and play with her.”

“Why didn’t the owners?”

“Oh, they would walk her and such, but she needed a good run around in the mornings, so she got some energy out. Her mom works from home, so it helped her out as well.”

We walked silently before she said, “Your donation paid off the bus and the business credit card, by the way. And the rest went into the account for a rainy day. That was what Sophia had suggested we do with it. I want to thank you again, Nate. You have no idea what a stress relief it is to have those paid off.”

“I’m glad it helped.”

We continued to walk for a bit before I said, “I want to help in whatever way I can, even if it’s coming out here and helping you walk dogs.”

Haven stopped walking and faced me. “I hope you know that I’m not with you because…”

I put my finger to her lips. “That never crossed my mind, Haven.”

Leaning down, I gently kissed her, but was interrupted by a dog squeezing between us. Looking down, I laughed when I saw Ralph.

“Sorry, dude, was I moving in on your girl?”

Ralph barked.

“I swear that dog knows what I’m saying.”

After hiking up to the lake and back, gathering up the poop bags, which I would have never seen myself doing before today, and getting everyone back on the bus and to their homes, we headed into town for lunch. And I was pretty damn sure nothing could break the smile that had been on my face all morning.

Chapter Eleven

HAVEN

Nate and I had decided pizza sounded good. After ordering, he asked me about the Waggin’ bus and how I had come up with the vest I used to walk the dogs.

“Well, before I got the bus, I needed to devise an easy way to walk them. Holding all those leashes in my hands wasn’t working. So, I came up with the vest idea after seeing someone else on social media doing something similar.”

He slowly shook his head. “It’s a brilliant idea, Haven.”

“Thank you, but it wasn’t my original idea. I saw a girl on Instagram who used one, and I took the idea from her. She also gave me the idea for the bus. She was my inspiration for it all. She lives up in Alaska.”

“Oh, wow.”

I grinned. “I know!”

Our pepperoni pizza came out, and Nate rubbed his hands together. “Man, who would have thought walking those dogs would work up such an appetite!”

We both got our pizza and began eating when Nate’s phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up. “It’s Doug, Solo’s dad. Excuse me.”

I watched as he answered the call and walked outside. One glance around the restaurant showed no one was paying us anyattention. My own phone buzzed, and when I looked at it, I saw it was Rosie.

Rosie: Did Nate show up at your place last night?

Me: Yes, he did. That was a dirty trick to play on him!

I could see the three dots appear and had to press my lips together tightly to keep from laughing.

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